One type of solderless connector is made up of a base, a contact, and a cap. This type is exemplified in the teaching of J. P. Pasternak U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,921. The base consists of an insulating material and functions to position and retain the wires to be interconnected. The contact is made of an electrically conductive metal having slots for each of the conductors to be spliced. The slots are of a configuration such that when the wire is forced into the slot, the insulation is pierced and the inside surfaces of the slot bear into the surface of the conductor. Consequently, a plurality of wires forced into respective slots of the contact will interconnect the wires. The cap is also made of an insulating material and is mated with the base to protect and insulate the splice.
In the noted prior patent 3,511,921 of Pasternak, the slots used in the contact had parallel inner walls culminating with a bottom wall perpendicular to the two parallel inner walls, thus forming two sharp corners. When a wire is forced into this slot, the stresses are focused on these corners. It has been realized that these corners have a tendency to tear or distort and under certain conditions cause the posts of the slot to lose their resiliency.
Another slot configuration used in the prior art is disclosed in J. P. Pasternak U. S. Pat. No. 3,718,888. This connector utilizes a pair of cantilevered posts for each wire to be connected. The adjacent sidewalls of each pair taper continuously together toward the fixed ends of the posts. It has now been determined that this slot has to be quite long relative to the height of the contact. Otherwise, the inner walls of the tapered slot will cut unduly into larger sized conductors and risk conductor weakening or breaking.
Furthermore, it is essential in posts of this type that they remain elastic in order to maintain efficient reliable contact with the wire conductor. Post configuration of the above-mentioned prior art would in certain instances evidence a small but still undesirable plastic deformation.
The base in the Pasternak U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,888 teaching has a plurality of adjacent openings for receiving the wires to be interconnected. The guidance which these openings provide is in some circumstances not as adequate as would be desired. Specifically, more than one wire could inadvertently be inserted into the same opening --which would, of course, prevent interconnection. Further, after the wires were inserted, but prior to effecting the splice, wires could possibly stray from their proper position and prevent the cover from mating with the base.
The prior art system of Pasternak 3,718,888 discloses basically passive reactions between the cap and the body to maintain conductor strain relief. But because there is a tendency of the cap to "rebound," the passive clamping action of the base and the cover is not always fully adequate.